Sunday, May 22, 2016

Based on the company's top selling variety, this Hot Cowboy from Jedidiah's Jerky takes the same recipe and throws on some red chile pepper to sharpen the spurs on this here buckaroo.

Jedidiah's Jerky was started by David Coffey, a veteran of the beef jerky business, having taken his first bite of the industry in 1984, when he went to work for Polley's Beef Jerky. In 2005, he went to work for himself by starting Jedidiah's Jerky. Based out of Beatty, NV, Coffey also runs a chain of beef jerky outlets called, "Jed's Jerky", with locations throughout Nevada and California.

The "Cowboy style" from Jedidiah's Jerky is meant to be a throwback to the old days of campfire cooking, saddle sores, and pesky indians. It's like a "man's jerky", with no sugar added, just simple seasonings and lots of peppery flavor.

The first flavors that I pick up is a light soy sauce and some garlic. There's a light smokiness too. The chewing brings on the natural meat flavors, with a bit more soy sauce definition. There's a touch of heat noticeable.

As for being named, "Hot Cowboy", it lives up to its billing. There's certainly some heat to this, though not overwhelming. It ranks on my personal heat scale, at best, as "medium" (level 3 out of 5). Some pieces give off more heat than others. I don't pick up much flavor from the red chile pepper. But it does have that "old west" flavor, something more traditional, more manly, with no sweet stuff, no fruity stuff, and certainly nothing that a ranch cook would put in his pot of chili.

Othewise, the primary taste profile is a light soy sauce flavor, with some garlic and a touch of black pepper. The natural meat flavors are significant in this. It's a little on the salty side, but still tolerable for me.

The meat consistency also seems fitting for a bow-legged buckaroo. Lean slabs of steak, dry and chewy, but still easy to get through, feel very meaty and chew just like real bites of steak cooked well done. I find only minimal stringiness and nothing unchewable.

Verdict

This Hot Cowboy Beef Jerky from Jedidiah's seems to really define the company's namesake, a cow punchin', bronco bustin', chew that tastes and feels like nothing short of manliness. As for being named, "Hot Cowboy", imagine something more like a trail ridin' John Wayne, as opposed to the Brokeback Mountain variety; it'll back you off just a bit, but still welcome you on a cattle drive. Otherwise, enjoy some simple seasonings, a good deal of natural meat flavor, and a steak-like chewing. It may be a touch high on the saltiness, but it ain't nothing a swig of water can't fix.

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About Best Beef Jerky

I'm Steve Johnson, and I've been in the Internet marketing and publishing business since 1997. I've been a life-long fan of beef jerky and decided to merge my profession with my snack food of choice, and gave birth to Best Beef Jerky.

I review beef jerky, turkey jerky, bison jerky, pretty much any meat jerky, even vegan jerky. I review meat sticks, biltong, cecina, carne seca, it's all fair game as long as it's meat, it's dried, and it's a snack.